Macron, Merkel call 'elections' in occupied Donbas illegal

12.11.2018 11:25

Ukrinform

French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Angela Merkel have made a joint statement in which the so-called "elections" held on Sunday, November 11, in the temporarily occupied territories of the Donetsk and Luhansk regions of Ukraine are branded as illegitimate and illegal.

France's Radio Europe1 released a respective report on Monday morning.

"President of France Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Angela Merkel made a joint statement on Sunday in which they recognized the elections in "pro-Russian" regions in eastern Ukraine as illegitimate and illegal," the report says.

"These so-called elections undermine the territorial integrity and sovereignty of Ukraine," said the leaders of the two countries who met with Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko on the sidelines of World War I commemorations in Paris.

France and Germany are active participants in the "Normandy format" talks on the settlement of the situation in eastern Ukraine.

Russian-backed militants held so-called elections in the occupied territories of Donetsk and Luhansk regions on November 11.

The Ukrainian side in the Trilateral Contact Group and the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry said that the results of illegitimate elections in the occupied territories of Ukraine would not be recognized by Ukraine and the international community.